Tag Archive | "drug take-back day"

Federal, state and local partners collect close to one million pounds across the country

Americans nationwide did their part to drop off a record number of unused, unwanted or expired prescription medications during the DEA’s 15th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, at close to 6,000 sites across the country. Together with a record-setting amount of local, state and federal partners, DEA collected and destroyed close to one million pounds—nearly 475 tons—of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs, making it the most successful event in DEA history.

Michigan State Police collected 23,115 pounds, or 11.6 tons. This brings the total amount of prescription drugs collected by DEA since the fall of 2010 to 9,964,714 pounds, or 4,982 tons.

“Today we are facing the worst drug crisis in American history, with one American dying of a drug overdose every nine minutes,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions.“An unprecedented crisis like this one demands an unprecedented response–and that’s why President Trump has made this issue a priority for this administration. DEA’s National Drug Take Back Days are important opportunities for people to turn in unwanted and potentially addictive drugs with no questions asked. These Take Back Days continue to break records, with the latest taking nearly 1 million pounds of prescription drugs off of our streets. And so I want to thank DEA and especially every American who participated in this event. I have no doubt it will help keep drugs out of the wrong hands and stop the spread of addiction.”

“National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is a day for every American, in every community across the country, to come together and do his or her part to fight the opioid crisis—simply by disposing of unwanted prescription medications from their medicine cabinets,” said DEA Acting Administrator Robert W. Patterson. “This event—our 15th—bringsus together with local, state and federal partners to fight the abuse of prescription drugs that is fueling the nation’s opioid epidemic.”

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day events continue to remove ever-higher amounts of opioids and other medicines from the nation’s homes, where they could be stolen and abused by family members and visitors, including children and teens.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

DEA launched its prescription drug take back program when both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration advised the public that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—posed potential safety and health hazards.

Helping people to dispose of potentially harmful prescription drugs is just one way DEA is working to reduce the addiction and overdose deaths plaguing this country due to opioid medications.

Complete results for DEA’s fall Take Back Day are available at www.deatakeback.com. DEA’s next Prescription Drug Take Back Day is October 27, 2018.

This Saturday, April 30, the Michigan State Police (MSP) will partner with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and other law enforcement agencies for National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day to provide a venue for citizens to dispose of unwanted and unused prescription drugs.

MSP’s 29 posts will participate in the one-day “Take-Back” effort from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, by serving as drop-off points for Michiganders to discard expired, unused and unwanted medications for destruction. No liquids, inhalers, patches, or syringes will be accepted. The service is free and anonymous with no questions asked.

“This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue,” stated Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue, Director of the MSP. “Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in Michigan and across the nation are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.”

Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

Citizens who are not able to participate on National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day can anonymously surrender their prescription drugs at any MSP post, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding holidays.

Prescription drugs can also be disposed of at Cedar Springs City Hall, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Did you know that, according to the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more Americans currently abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin combined? Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

This Saturday, April 28, the Drug Enforcement Administration and its community partners will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. On Saturday, the DEA and its partners will hold their fourth National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day at sites nationwide. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Locally, the Cedar Springs Police Department will have a drop box available to dispose of medications between noon and 2 p.m., during the surplus auction behind City Hall, 66 S. Main St. They do not accept liquids or syringes. But they do accept pills in their packs or bottles. According to Police Chief Roger Parent, the bottles and pills will be destroyed in an incinerator so there is no danger of anyone getting someone’s prescription information.

If you can’t make it Saturday, the Cedar Springs Police also has that drop box available inside City Hall during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In Rockford, both the Michigan State Police and the Rockford Police Department will collect medications between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. “Prescription drug abuse is a major epidemic across the country and DEA is committed to reducing the potential for misuse by providing a safe and secure method for Americans to clean out their medicine cabinets and properly dispose of unwanted, unneeded, or expired medication,” said DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart. “Americans responded overwhelmingly to DEA’s first three Take-Back Day events, disposing of nearly 500 tons of medication in the past two years. This nationwide community effort prevents home medicine cabinets from becoming sources of dangerous—and even deadly—drugs.”